Process and apparatus for stimulating the production of oil.



I". B. WARENG.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR STIIVIUIA'IING THE PRODUCTION 0F OIL.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. I8. I9IB.

V @H101 um;

Patented Jan. 14, T919.

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To ,tall 'whom t may cdnccm:

Be it known that ll, Fano B. lllAmNe, a citizen ot the United States ot America, residing at Kansas City, in the county ot Jackson and State ot' Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in thejlProcesses and Apparatus tor Stimulating the Production ot' Uil, ont which the following is a specification.

Crude oil as tound in driven wells in an oilproducing field, and liberated l'rom the oil bearing sand or rock is proportionately accompanied by paraffin or asphaltum, the native bitumen which in combination with the crude oil Hows into the well, and is pumped out and distilled trom the crude oil. 'lhe paradin or the asphaltum, alter a period ot' time accumulates in the oil sand or rock, and clogs the pores ot the oil sand strata, and retards the entry ot the oil intothe well, and itsv production is curtailed, and hnally, a well which has produced oil in paying quantities, tails altogether to respond to the suction ol the pump, and is abandoned as a dry well.

'lo overcome the resistance ot the paradin, and permit the oil to tlow alter its cessation, it has been attempted to heat the oil in the well, by various processes, and endeavor to liquety the resisting substances, with the result that the heat tails to penetrate the oil sand, so as to liquety these substances therein, and the degrees ot heat are conhned to the immediate body ot oil in the well.

lt is the purpose ot my invention to create a heated zone, extending into the oil bearing sand or roclr at a liquetying temperature and co-eXtensive with the body ot oil in the oil bearing rock, hence a yield ot the oil lor a determinate period ot time is assured, with an average daily production othe oil, thus opening up the clogged pores in the oil-bearing roch, tor the unobstructed How ot the oil.

lin order to maintain a heated zone in the oil sand rock, it is the purpose ot the invention to locate an electric heating apparatus on the pumping conduit between'the perforated pipe for the oil and the working barrel throng which the oil is pumped, and maintaining a high amperage ot heat, distributed direotly to the oil bearing sand, the apparatus employed and the procedure being shown in the illustrations in the accom Specification ot Letters Patent.

application mcd March lt, Wit. lterial tto. Rettet.

panying drawing, forming a part ot this specilication, in whichliigure l. is a view, in vertical section, ot an oil well, showing the, lower end ot the casing at the entrance to the oil bearing roch or sand; also showing the protected heater within the oil sand, and the pertorate pipe through which an exhaust ot the oil is made through the heater, the heater being conn nected with the pump barrel and tub-ing, the heater being connected electrically with the armored circuit.

Fig. 2.. is a view of the heater andhollow insulated core, and' portions ot' the heating coils and protector for creating a heating zone with oil elimination, '1n section.

lFig. 3. is a sectional View through the heater, taken on line 3, 3, in Fig. 2. W' ith tube or pipe 5, which entends downwardly from the surface ot the ground, within the casing t, is connected by collar 7, the upper end oli' the pump barrel 8. With the lower end ot the pump barrel is connected by the collar 9 a pipe l0. The core ot the heater is formed by a tube l2, ot the same circurnterence as the tube lll.

insulators, of high electric resistance, such as porcelain tubes 13, extend around the cirtit lili

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cumference ot the core 12, the insulators, as

shown, being short in length, and provided with intertittingl joints ld. rllhe insulating `tubes are held in position on the core l2, by

a loch-nut l5, near the upper end oi the core, and by a loch-nut i6, near the lower end ot the core. Between the porcelain insulators or tubes i3 and core l2 is a bedding ll', composed ol insulating material.

The heating or resistance coilsl are in sections, one coil being connected with another by an overlap joint 19.

The protector tor the heating coils, when raised and lowered within the oil sand, is formed by a long electrical casing 20, errn tending around the series ot heating coils, so as to leave a space 21 between the coils and the inner sui-tace ot the casing. rlhe case 20 is provided with pertorations 2Q, arranged short distances apart, between the upper and lower ends ot the case. At the upper end ot the case is a cap 23, provided with a downwardly-extended annular flange 2t, which Hts within the upper end of the case. ltlrrtending upwardly trom the upper portion ot the cap 23 is an internally screw ttl llli

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llllli threaded collar 25. The adjacent ends of the respective tubes 10 and 12 are also screwthreaded, and are united by the collar 25. Supporting the lower end of the case 20 is a cap 26, having a flange 27, and an internally screw-threaded collar 28. The lower end of the tube 12 is also screw-threaded, and with the collar 28, which is secured to said end of the tube 12, is connected the screw-threaded upper end of the perforated pipe 30. An'

anchor, or short ipe 31, is connected by the collar 32 with t e lower end of the perforated pipe 30, the lower end of pipe 31 having a collar 33, closed by a plug 34. The cap 26 is provided with ducts 35, for the leakage of any oil entering the casing 20 through the perforations 21, from seepage from the oil sand. An electric conductor 36 is connected with an electric generator 37, and leads through an openin 38, in the cap 23, and is connected wit the upper terminal of one of the sectional resistance coils 18, at the upper end of the heater. The lower terminal of the lower coil is connected by a conductor 39, with the casing 20, the return circuit being through the casing 20 and the oil pumping tubes.

The insulated conducting wire 36 is in short lengths, each length being inclosed within a conduit or insulated pipe 40, the sections of the pipe being connected with each other by a joint 41, the sections of pipe being held in position upon the side of the tubing by the clamp 43.

At a point on the pump tubing above the working barrel is a damper 44, which retards the generated heat within the oil-producing strata, until its edectiveness is spent when it rises through the metal casing of the well, to the surface of the ground.

The oil in the well is rst exhausted by the pump, to a point corresponding in height to the topmo'st perforation in the perforated pipe 30, before the current from the generator 37 is admitted to the heater. An electric current from the enerator is then caused to energize the coi s 18, and during which time the operation of the pump is continued, to hold the oil and water below the point or the electrical contact from the resistance material attached to the protecting case 20, because a ground is established at that point, otherwise the rising of the liquid to a oint in which the heater was submerged, t e current would pass through the liquid, instead of through the higher resistance, heat-imparting material, and cause a short circuit.

The procedure, therefore, is to treat the oil-hearing sand in an oil well with dry heat, to liquei'y the obstructions in the pores, draw the oil through the heater and hold the heat radiated from the heater from escaping from the well, and in creatin a heat zone through the oil hearing roc The wells thus treated will, after the removal of the obstructions continue for several months, to respond to the pump action, and furnish an average daily supply of oil, before a re-heating is necessary. Heretofore, in stimulating the production of oil in oil Wells, heaters have been employedall of which have failed to be operative because all have been tightly closed in a protecting case or jacket. This failure is due to nature placing moisture within the air-tight case or jacket, in the form of sweat, which can not be insulated against, therefore, upon generating an internal heat, this moisture becomes vaporized to a high pressure, sufficient at least to open up a vent within the protecting case, and is followed by an exhaustion to a point less than the hydrostatic pressure of the fluid in the well. This partlal vacuum induced is followed by an inrush of water or oil, or a mixture of both, which produces a short circuit within the protecting case, thus placing the apparatus out of operative condition. There is no way that this internal pressure can be dissipated, and patents covering electric heaters for this purpose have all followed the same inclosed type idea of which the Patent No. 785554, dated March 7, 1905, granted to applicant, is an illustration, all having failed to produce the desired results, being unable to overcome the laws of nature/in the matter of eliminating the internal moisture, of which there is no known way.

With a practical experience, covering a number of years by applicant in the oil iield, the above facts were clearly determined, and the idea-o an open type heater presented itself. With the openings or perforations in the protecting case allowing the electrical resistance, terminals, etc., to become wet on lowering the heater into the well, the Huid is pumped outl or exhausted7 the pump continuing to operate during the heating period, so as to continue to discharge the duid J'rom the well as it fills in a little at a time), the Huid being held below the heater, at all times during the heat treatment, and what little duid there is on the electrical resistance and within the open or perforated protecting jacket, is vaporized by the passing or" a low current through the resistance, completely drying out all moisture within said jacket. Tn other words, this open type heater readily offers means ot dissipating the vapor arising from the generated heat within, by means ci? the openings in the protecting jacket, through which the direct rays oi unconned dry heat are imparted to the residuum lining the wall of the well. Such residuum gathers on and in the pores and fissures of the oilbearing strata, producing suicient resistance to the incoming iluid to hold it from entering the well.

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ln other well-known processes, the employment of heat has been for thepurpose ot vaporizing the Water or gasitying oil, to a sudicient pressure upon the Huid in the Well to torce the oil to the surface ot the ground. No application, heretofore, of the unconlined, direct rays et dry heat to the oil-bearing strata, having been described or claimed.

Having fully described my invention, what l now claim as new and desire to se cure by Letters Patent is:

1. rllhe herein described process el stimulating the production of oil, which consists in creating Within the oil-bearing strata and its obstructions an increasing degree ot direct rays oit unconlined dry heat, bearing directly u on the residuum lining ot the Well, suclent to liquety paradin or other obstructions to the incoming oil ol the oilbearing strata.

2. rllhe herein described rocess of stimulating the production ot oi which consists, lirst, in exhausting the liquid in the well, heating the oil-bearing material with the applieation of the direct rays ot uneonned dry heat, and simultaneously retarding the heated temperature.

3. rl`he herein described rocess ot stimulating the production el o1l, `which consists 3o in exposing the oil-bearing material to the direct rays ot unconned dry heat, and liqueitying the obstructions and retarding the heat in its escape from the Well, and re moving simultaneously the liquid seepage from the oil-bearing material.

d. '.lhe herein described process of stimulating the production of oil, which consists in exposing the oil-bearin strata to the direct rays o't unconined ry heat, vvith a gradual increase in the degree of temperature of the zone of heated oil-bearing material, until the residuum has been removed.

5. ln an apparatus for the stimulation ot the flow ol3 oil in oil Wells, a heater, and a protecting exterior perforated case or shell upon the heater.

6. lnan apparatus igor the stimulation ot the How of oil, a heater, and a protecting exterior perforated case or shell, having oil draining ducts.

7. lln an apparatus for the stimulation ot the dow of oil, a heater, and a protecting exterior perforated case having' heads supported by the heater, and ducts in one ot said heads tor draining the oil from the 55 casing..

FRED B. WARlNG. Witnesses:

l?. lh. Davis,

Wir. P.. Annu. 

